A Spark For The Fire
by RighteousJ
Summary: (Insert generic description of Ranma feeling fed up with his life in Nerima and wanting to go somewhere else) He ends up in the world of Fire Emblem Awakening by the powers of a Divine Being, unknown to him.
1. The Shield

**Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, and Fire Emblem is a property of Nintendo and intelligent systems I own nothing and I will never claim to own anything.**

* * *

 **A Spark For The Fire**

For Ranma Saotome, the victor over Saffron and countless other foes, it was another disgustingly normal Saturday afternoon. The town of Nerima had gone back to relative normality and he absolutely hated it. Normal life's monotony, whose charm had been lost on him to begin with, became actively unbearable. He had been left wanting something bigger and instead he was left with something so... small. Not just small; confining, constricting, imprisoning. _School_.

Even Ryoga, by any means a constant presence in his life, hadn't even shown himself since the failed wedding… Oh, the wedding. If he had expected a climax to anything following the incident with Saffron, it was that. The chance that something concrete may finally happen between the two of them, instead of a back and forth which had long since run its course in his mind. Now, there was less between them than there ever had been. It felt as if there'd been a death in the house.

Life was at a standstill. No random challenge from anyone, no mystical foes or insane time trips. Nothing… Besides occasionally protecting the school from Principal Kuno's madness.

He at least found something of a brief respite with the weekend. At this moment, he was taking a walk in the open, not only taking in the spring air but trying to distract himself from the crushing ennui. It was when he walked past the cat cafe that the beast known as his stomach made itself known. With a shrug, and not a second's hesitation, he strode inside, hoping to con a sample if not a free meal out of the visit. The first thing which struck him was what didn't - he wasn't immediately glomped upon. He gave a quick mental thanks for that one or however gods that decided he ought to have a break. His next observation, was that the old leathery frog - a harsh description but nonetheless accurate - Cologne seemed to be rifling through what he could only assume and describe as a pile of ancient junk.

Cologne took notice of the youth and gestured for him to come over.

"Over here, Son-in-law" she croaked out. With a breath drawn and a shake of his shoulders, Ranma stepped over to the Elder.

"What's up, granny?" he responded, which granted him a swift blow to his head.

"Well, _Saotome,_ " she said, likely attempting to avoid a name calling volley (if there were two apt candidates for such a contest, it would be them), "These represent almost three centuries of collecting and travels. Each one of these little baubles has their own story behind them, every one of them told to have magic powers." Without warning she picked one up and tossed it to him, which he was barely able to catch without wiping out.

"What a load of junk, right?"

Ranma gave her a glare as she rocked back and forth chuckling (which only brought forward the frog comparisons in his own mind). Once his rage subsided, he idly twirled the bit of kitsch around on his finger.

"And what's the point of having it all out? You trying to catch cash for it or what?" He asked before the small bit of porcelain nearly lept to its death, Ranma barely balancing it back onto its tiny table. Would it count as a mercy kill if he let it fall?

The hag's eye twitched a bit, but a bit spent on the discipline of her own clan she opted to let this one slide.

"They've been clogging up my back rooms. I'm hoping someone finds some value in something here and I can finally get rid of them all. I just got one of those foot bath massage doo-dads, and the sooner I can try that, the better."

Ranma, perishing the thought of what shrivelled chicken feet the old lady could have, elected to look around a while at all of the ancient goods, which seemed to range from every part of China and every time. Some of them had to have been ancient when she found them! One's specific glister caught his eye.

Strictly speaking it resembled a shield, with various indentations occupied by multicolored gemstones spread evenly across a brazen surface which age had done nothing to coarsen. Adorning the shield's surface was a strange writing that even Ranma, hardly a man of literature, had never seen before in his life.

Cologne snickered slightly at Ranma's interest.

"Oh boy, has that one got stories…"

"Lemme guess, your kids scribbled on it?"

He, somewhat deservedly, reserved another rap on the back of the skull for that.

"Its origins were lost to time long ago, but over the years it's gained itself quite a few different names. The Shield of Seals, Crest of Flames, Shield of Flames. However, elders back in the village would tend to call it a _Fire Emblem_."

"Sounds like a bit of crap to me… Kinda looks like you taped a few plastic jewels to a-"

Cologne raised her staff again.

"Yeah, alright..."

"Now… I can't quite remember everything about it, but the only thing known about this it's that, it's insanely old... and at one point, it may have been able to grant wishes"

"May have?"

"Well do you think I'd still be here if it worked today? It was said it used to glow for a moment… Only to stop glowing a few seconds later, of course. Now? Not even that! It's just taking up space. If I can even find somebody to take it it'll be a miracle. Bastard weighs a ton!"

Ranma looked over at Cologne, a slight tinge of excitement standing up the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Maybe, uh... I can take it off your hands? It's… kinda cool looking, honestly." He said with an inordinately small voice for him. Cologne took a moment to consider his request, internally debating whether or not she could use it to her advantage. Ranma watched the internal struggle like a tennis game of her iris' and pupils.

"Go ahead and take it. You'd be doing me a favor! Maybe it'll look nice on a wall. Beats me."

Ranma grinned and nodded, his appetite either satiated or hammered into submission by his brain for once.

"Thanks, old ghoul!" He said as he quickly exited the cafe, long gone by the time Cologne would want to give his noggin punishment with her stick.

For some people, buyer's remorse sets in after a day or so of purchase. With him, it was almost a whole ten minutes.

"What a piece of junk…" He chided himself as he ran a hand across the deceptively smooth surface of the shield. He pressed his thumb into the indent at the top of the shield, which a more attentive listener may have noticed the small clicking sound it made after being fondled. Ranma, however, was not a very good listener.

"A wish, huh? That'd've been cool. Maybe even given me a cure…" He snorted a bit at that, but with an underlying bitterness. "As if…" he murmured, kicking a stone. "That thing's been imprinted on my DNA or somethin'."

"Although…" he said to himself, as fantasies of fighting, triumph, action… even rekindled romance began to dance through his mind. He wanted _something._ Something that he could be proud of. Something that he could claim as being his own. His own contribution to the world that he didn't have to filter through the eyes of the grand scheme of things. He wanted to _be_ the grand scheme, to play a part in something that would make his days at school seem paltry by comparison. Whether this was his own delusions of grandeur or a more deep-seated desire for confirmation is a question not even those closest to him could answer, but the idea was almost erotically tantalizing to him.

"If only you still worked…" he said, pressing in on the same bright crowning jewel. However, the relative stillness of his mind made him aware of the click. Something in his mind clicked along with it. He held the treasure at arm's length, his fingers tight along its edges, and eyed every one of the gemstones. With a deep breath, he began:

"I wish… I could be someplace where I could make a difference."

All at once the gemstones on the shield began to glow and make a high-pitched whistle. Ranma yelped and his arms trembled as both of the sensations began to eclipse his surroundings. He felt the sensation of falling- no, not just falling, falling during a cyclone. The stones glowed brighter and brighter until they were nearly blinding, burning themselves into his pupils and seemingly engulfing everything. Nothing of his surroundings remained.

To the outside world, it was a brief flash of light. In that flash the little town of Nerima got that much smaller.

* * *

Naga, the Divine Dragon, was always watching something. The Saotome boy had caught her eye not only because of his larger than life ego but because of his impressive latent power. She had quietly observed his battles with the prince Herb, and more recently his defeat of the creature Saffron, whose power would rival even Duma's destructiveness. Regardless of the aid he had received, or what fluke may have secured his victory, she considered it quite a feat for who was in every other way a mere mortal.

With everything threatening to engulf her world in a larger conflict than it had ever known before, she scanned time and space for a pure and powerful soul to aid her children. Ranma proved to be her most promising candidate. She would explain it to him- eventually- but she knew enough to know that if she told him directly... That she had dragged him into this war, away from every person he had ever known and every familiar dwelling of his... He would likely be less than willing to help. With his own desires clear, however, she knew something would call to him. Despite his chaotic exterior and his often abrasive manners, she knew that a good heart beat beneath his breast. Perhaps this would be the push he needed to overcome his own limitations. For now, however, she couldonly hope that her children, the royal family of Ylisse, would be able to intercept this wild boy and mold him into a man worthy of himself.

* * *

"Chrom, we have to do _something_!"

"What exactly do you propose we do?"

"I-I don't know…"

The bickering voices were by any definition an unpleasant way to wake up. Ranma stirred with a groan, blinking at the sunlight and the curious dampness of his surroundings. His first thought was that the Tendo's had finally kicked him out. It made more sense than trying to take a literal dirt nap.

"Hold on, I think he's waking up!" said one of the presences. Ranma let out another groan in response as he leaned forward.

"I don't suppose I'm going back to sleep any time soon" He muttered to himself, as he simply raised himself to his feet, almost floating.

Now erect he could see the sources of those voices. One, the older one, seemed near his age. Blue hair and a similar muscular physique, but also much taller than Ranma. He sported an expression of complete bewilderment with how simply Ranma raised to his feet. He was wearing some kind of armor, but to Ranma it seemed rather unsuited for combat; his right shoulder was left completely exposed.

Ranma then looked to the female, much shorter than the man. Everything about her was childlike; her blonde hair tied into pigtails, her puffy dress which made her look like one of those porcelain dolls he read about, her large eyes and tiny face. She had to be younger than either of them.

The man cautiously raised his arms and took a step back.

"Listen, kid, we're not gonna hurt you."

"No! Not a scratch. Promise!" said the girl, holding her stave behind her back to try and prove her point.

"We'd just, uh, like to know your name."

"Yeah, and what village you're from."

"Lissa!"

"W-Well, you know. As soon as you're ready to say it. Take your time." she said, smiling awkwardly and blinking to try and look innocent.

Ranma shook his head to try and make sense of it all. His body felt somewhat exhausted for whatever reason, like he'd been kicked and tossed around in some kind of storm. He rubbed his head.

"Ranma… " he said, cracking his neck. "Saotome. And, uh… Nerima? I can't get too much more specific than that."

"Ran-ma Sow-toe-may?" He repeated, his brow cocked, visibly trying to figure out the spelling.

"Nerima Village? Are you from another continent or what?" asked the girl, her eyes rolling up as she seemingly racked her brain for both the name and the village.

Their own confusion resulted in double as much for him. And then, like a fever, a chill descended across his body as the realization hit his mind and matter at once. Shivering, the words caught on the roof of his mouth.

"W-Where am I…?" he eked out, though it likely sounded less coherent.

The two figures exchanged a worried glance.

"Where in the hell am I?" he said again, much more loudly, almost screaming. His two friends looked for the words to try and tell him. Wherever he was from, it was a long way from where he was now.

* * *

 **Authors note thing I don't know. So I finally got around to writing this a while ago, but I recently had a friend of mine look over it, and damn! Did he do a banger of a job. Damn! Does my friend deserve most of the credit behind this chapter. I laid the ground work out and he cleaned it up and made it damn good. Like a lot better than it originally was. So hopefully he doesn't mind keeping it up for the next chapter.**


	2. The Arrow's Path

**Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, and Fire Emblem is a property of Nintendo and intelligent systems I own nothing and I will never claim to own anything.**

* * *

 _ **The Arrow's Path**_

Ranma had now three times shouted at the pair of new faces to give him a straight answer, and with his hatred of repeating himself he was not going to be so nice this third time. The older male member of the party was seemingly the first to understand the question, as he quickly shook his head and calmly stepped forward.

"You're in the nation of Ylisse, a few miles outside of the capital city of Ylisstol," said the older of the pair. The younger girl gripped her staff and cautiously looked between the two men.

Ranma took a moment to himself to process it. He had never heard of any place named Ylisse (or Ylisstol for that matter), He takes a deep breath however trying not to really freak out too much right now.

The older one cleared his throat to speak.

"Um… My name is Chrom, and this is my younger sister, Lissa." The blonde girl standing beside him now gave Ranma a bright smile and a nod, seemingly in an attempt to make him feel more at ease.

"You can be at ease, stranger. We only fend of brigands and invaders, and you don't seem to be either," said Chrom, quite obviously sizing up Ranma in his mind.

"Yeah, so there's no need to worry!" said Lissa, whom Ranma was beginning to subconsciously link to a collection of antique dolls he had encountered once. It only added to his unease.

It was clear these two were not going to be any help. His mind, deprived of any real answers, began to race. _What the hell did I do to bring myself here? It's not like I upset any voodoo- Wait a minute. That garage sale, the one the old lady was having… And that weird shield! She said it could grant wishes. What if… What if I-?_

"Lord Chrom!" A voice bellowed, derailing Ranma's already flimsy train of thought. The sound of hooves approaching caused him to dart his head towards the approaching sound. He saw a man with short brown hair and an impressive suit of armor, especially compared to Chrom's- this one at least made sure to cover both of his arms. Ranma could tell not only from his riding posture but also the broad frown gracing his face that he was not going to be a fun third person to deal with.

The man leaped down from his horse and placed himself obnoxiously right in between Ranma and Chrom. It at least gave Ranma a better opportunity to size him up. He may have been taller than Chrom, but with his shoulder blades being the only thing he can see, it was difficult to make that assumption. Were it not for the lance, Ranma thought he could take him quite easily.

"I've been looking for you two. I think it unwise to talk with strangers so callously."

"Come, I don't think he means any harm, Frederick. From what we can tell, he seems more confused than anything else."

"M'lord, reports of attacks have been steadily on the rise. You of all people should know how dangerous it is to wander around like this without proper protection. He could be a brigand, or an enemy spy, or a-"

"Frederick, please!" said Chrom with a reassuring but chiding tone. "This man was unconscious only a moment ago, and…" He took a moment to look over at the disheveled teen, whose clothes were still baggy and whose hair had been flipped every which way.

"I sincerely doubt he has any plans to hide."

Ranma reciprocated Frederick's piercing glare. Whatever a brigand was, it sounded insulting.

"Yeah, Frederick!" Lissa cut in. "We've already searched him and he hasn't got anything. Besides… How would it reflect on the Shepherds for you to take up arms against a defenseless man?" she said, with her hands on her hips and head cocked to the side.

Ranma raised his eyebrow and glanced over to Lissa. "Shepherds? Like… As in sheep? Seems like a waste of armor and stuff to just be taking care of sheep."

Chrom chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a perilous and unforgiving job. My friend here can tell you as much."

Frederick scowled and glanced off to the side. "If you want to squander your protection, m'lord, it's no skin off of my nose."

Ranma, far from questioning the situation at this point, simply nodded his head as he tried to consider how large the sheep in this country had to be for the shepherds to have such a reputation.

"Frederick, please. I say we should at least take him back to Ylisstol with us. I think we both have a great many questions for each other."

Frederick was obviously opposed to the idea but he knows there's nothing he can do to change his Lords mind.

"Fine… But however harmless he appears, I advise caution."

Chrom rolled his eyes. "As you wish… You, stranger!" he raised his voice in Ranma's direction as well as his finger. "On your toes. We better get a move on."

Ranma was against this wholeheartedly, but he imagined going against them right now would only bring more suspicion upon him, and conversely the more he complied the better chances he had of getting out of this nightmare situation alive. So, under heavy internal protest, he let the three guide him out of the clearing.

"So, uh… What kind of sheep does he tend to that need that kinda armor?" He whispered to Lissa, while jerking his head in Frederick's direction. For some reason, at this moment he found her the easiest to talk to.

"You shouldn't be angry with him, he just takes his job seriously."

"It's the job that I don't understand."

"Right… Well, it's sort of a private militia. We've been having horrible luck with bandits and invaders on our borders. It's their job to make sure that they don't get far."

"Invaders…? From space, or…?"

"No! Other countries. Mostly Plegia. They really hate us."

Chrom tapped his leg to get her attention and then shot her a look. Lissa snapped to attention like a toy soldier and her mouth clamped tightly shut. Ranma raised an eyebrow and tried to egg her on.

"You, uh, finished there?

She gestured her head at her brother and then made an X with her hands, shaking her head at the same time. Ranma nodded, if only to try and move the conversation along. He looked up and shuddered slightly as he felt Frederick's judgemental eye set on him once more.

"Listen, I'm not sure what your issue is, White Knight, but let me make something clear; I don't know you people. And I haven't got the slightest clue whatever war you're in the middle of or who these Parisian invaders are or what makes them so angry at you. I don't exactly hold grudges against people who haven't slighted me, right? So you can stop looking at me like I got a knife down my pants or something, Fred, 'cause you're starting to get on my shit list real fast."

He felt all three pairs of eyes on him steadily open wider.

"And I now realize that sounded really threatening…" he muttered, as the scraps of conversation petered out entirely.

* * *

The journey took the foursome past a thick and expansive forest. Ranma by gazing into it, past the crossed and gnarled trees could tell its size. He quickly dismissed it, however, as it seemed Chrom was leading them past it anyhow.

It wasn't until a scream cut through the forest's edge that the four heads darted in its direction. They froze as the echo rolled over the hills, bouncing around their ears. Ranma darted his head towards the source, a clear-cut path through the forest, where other sounds- punches, kicks, grunts- were emanating from. He turned back to the rest of his party, who were frozen in either fear or confusion.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!" he yelled, heading in through the open clearing. Chrom followed soon after, and a reluctant Frederick and Lissa after that.

Ranma came up behind a tree, peeking his head out to check out the scene. A girl was seemingly knelt in a small clearing, with two large round men on either side of her and another much taller one walking toward her from the front. She had put up a fight, with several bruises and cuts all over her body. Ranma leaned forward to try and get a better look while still staying out of the light.

"Well done, my friends…" said the largest of them, as he reached down to stroke the girl's face, while she closed her eyes and winced back. "She's immaculate. Just another example of Ylissian luxury, I'm sure," he crooned in a lurid and disgusting voice. Ranma looked away in disgust. She had a right to scream that loudly with those things menacing her.

The other three crept up behind him, peeking out behind a large log which made for a covert way to spy on the scene. Lissa gasped as she saw the scene in front of her, ducking behind Chrom a few seconds later.

"What took you so long?" he quipped back quietly but casually, leaning forward on the log.

"How can you be so calm?" whispered Frederick loudly, taking Ranma's collar.

"Because I'm trying to be quiet!" he snapped back, grunting as Frederick pushed him aside.

Before he could go for his lance, an unexpectedly strong hand halted him in his place. Ranma yanked him back, and with his other hand pointed up to the forest canopy. Frederick narrowed his eyes and noticed the shape of two archers under the leaves.

"They must have hunted down the girl first… Then alerted their friends."

"How do you know that?"

"She wasn't overpowered, just pinned… Look at her hem."

They looked closer at her hem, and saw he was right; an arrow on each side of the hem of her skirt kept her pinned against the ground.

Chrom looked past Frederick to Ranma, a smirk hiding how impressed he was. "You have good eyes, stranger… Now all we need is a plan to get her away from here safely."

"Well, I got the start of one comin'... We swoop in, grab her, try not to get shot. Whad'ya think?" He said, complete with a bit of a smarmy

"Be serious, Ranma. This isn't only our lives, it's the life of that girl," said Chrom, in a tone that made Ranma feel like a child getting scolded by their parent. "You seem to be good at analysing. Why don't you try and figure this out?"

Ranma grumbled out and surveyed the battleground again, watching as the thugs moved closer to the girl. His eyes darted between the girl, the thugs, and the archers.

"Lissa, stay back and out of sight. Ya don't exactly look to be made for combat… And it looks like they have a type. Frederick, you and I are gonna go and take on the two right by her. Try and misdirect them first so the girl's got a good field of escape. Chrom, you tank up and try to swipe her. If there any more of them around here, I'll take care of 'em."

"If anyone's not fit for fighting, it's you!" growled Lissa just loud enough to make her point. "What are you going to do, smug them to death?"

Ranma quietly chuckled in response. "Trust me, I'm more than fast enough to outrun a couple of wooden bows and arrows."

"In any event, my armor should be enough to take the brunt of whatever they can dole out. I'll give you this, stranger, it's not a terrible plan. If you're as fast as your boasting."

"Speed's what it's all about," whispered Ranma, giving Frederick a thumbs up. Frederick rolled his eyes and fixed his eyes forward.

Chrom went for his sword at his side. "That settles it, then. On my signal, we-"

"But why am _I_ staying back?" said Lissa, in a voice that finally breached what they considered a safe volume. Chrom's first instinct was to cover her mouth, ducking her and them further out of view. Once she wriggled out, she began again in a quieter voice.

"You seem to have this idea that I'm some fragile little girl! I can assure you I'm not! I should be out there just as much as the rest of you!" she said, her attention most clearly focused on Ranma.

Ranma gritted his teeth. He was sure at this point she'd blown their cover.

"Yeah, well, truth is I don't exactly know what it is you do, China Doll! " he loudly whispered at her. Chrom was nervously situated in the middle of this argument.

As easily as she could in this claustrophobic position, she displayed the staff at her side.

"This!"

"You're a farmer?"

"I'm a healer! And in situations like this, I think that is rather beneficial! I have seen how rough these men can be. We could be strung up like dogs, flayed, flogged, cas-"

She was cut off with the stone tip of an arrow pointed right down her nose. The behemoth holding the bow smiled.

"Don't stop on my account. By all means, I could use a few ideas."

Before Lissa could open her mouth Ranma had leapt up and extended his foot into his jaw, sending him jolting back. He had less than a second to recover before Ranma was in front of him, first delivering an uppercut, then a punch to his gut, and finally a sharp chop to the back of his head, letting him careen down and land with an all-too satisfying thud on the forest floor. All of this in what the others experienced in barely more than a second. Ranma, after fixing his braid back behind his head, turned around back to the others. Now standing up, they all bore expressions of bewildered awe. Frederick was the first to swallow and purse his lips, before quietly eking out;

"Holy sh-"

He was cut off by the sound of rustling leaves. A half dozen men, all armed with similar bows and arrows leapt down from the trees and formed a semicircle around the foursome. Ranma raised his hands defensively as he kept his legs in a ready position. His eyes darted between the now seven adversaries, sizing them separately.

"Ranma!" called Chrom. "What's the plan now?"

"Screw the plan! Improvise!"

All three of the friends screamed at the top of their lungs and rushed forward with their weapons drawn. Ranma, at the head of the pack, took the brunt of what the men had to offer head-on. That was the easy part. The arrows proved difficult both for his eyes to follow and for his body to maneuver around effectively. Lissa, upon realizing without her magic she was holding little more than a club, slipped behind her brother as he began to swing at the attackers and deflect the arrows which were now careening towards his party from all sides. Frederick was proving himself especially useful, with his armor making him able to tank past the arrows and incapacitate two of them with one swoop.

Ranma turned at the sound of a struggle to see the girl being carried off by one of the thugs from before. He grit his teeth, before sticking two fingers in his mouth and whistling to Chrom who was currently trying to topple one of the attackers.

He pointed to the girl as they disappeared into the forest. Frederick, tossing another foe over his shoulder, motioned Chrom along as they both dashed after the escaping pair. Ranma grunted and turned back to the fray, before his eyes widened in realization of his error; him and Lissa were surrounded still by five men, all more effectively armed than either of them. Lissa looked to him with her fear and annoyance plain on her face.

"Thanks, Chrom…" she muttered as the men began to close in. Ranma grit his teeth and leaped into action, moving as quickly as his body allowed, taking care to pummel each of the men as soundly as his fists and his feet could allow him. One he uppercut enough to topple him, another found his sandal planted firmly in his face. Lissa stood clutching her staff and watching with keen awe. She had simply never seen anything like this.

Ranma finished his ferocity with a strong knockout kick to one of the burglar's heads. He put his hands on his hips and panted to catch his breath.

"Damn… I must be letting myself go.." he said, starting to stretch and popping his neck.

"W-What are you…?" whispered Lissa, struck somewhere between fear and awe. Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma noticed the faint glint off a polished stone. He traced it to an arrow, which he followed with his eyes to see pointed straight at Lissa's breast. Without missing a beat, he leapt between Lissa and the man, kicking backwards to both deflect the arrow and kick the attacker square in the face. Lissa opened her eyes to see Ranma facing her. They both smiled, and began to laugh in relief. Ranma turned to survey his work.

"If those two get back quick enough, we should be able to get out of here before these assholes are conscious again," he said, his hands on his hips. When Lissa failed to respond, he turned back to see her with an even more mortified expression.

"What, what is it?"

"Y-You uh…"

"What? Say it!"

"Y-You have an, uh, arrow…"

"An arrow? Where…?"

"I-In your… Butt…"

Ranma blinked his eyes a few times to let his mind absorb that information, before lifting his arm and turning his head. He saw it; an arrow stuck deep in his right buttock, twitching as he took a step forward. Ranma turned back to Lissa, her expression the same of exasperated worry. Ranma simply opened his mouth, as if poised to say something;

The girl had long since fainted, currently resting in Chrom's bridal carry when the blood-curdling screams began to leak from where he and Frederick had left the two. Chrom yelled for Lissa in a panic as they ran towards the source of the screaming.

"I knew we shouldn't have left them on their own," grunted Frederick. "That stranger may have impressive moves but not enough to save-"

As they came to the clearing they not only saw the rest of the bandits lying unconscious in a heap, but Ranma lying supine on the ground, with Lissa sitting on his back with her hands wrapped around the arrow stuck in his backside. Her face showed signs of how difficult the struggle had been. Her teeth were grit, and her hair was ruffled.

"Hold still!"

"No!"

"Ranma, I swear!"

"No! Just let me die!"

"Ranma, I'm trying to help you!"

"I don't wanna!" he cried, pounding on the ground with his fists.

"Damn it, hold still!"

Chrom chuckled broadly. Frederick sighed in disbelief, angered over his perceived waste of time and effort.

"Ranma…" grunted Lissa, slamming down onto him. "I want you to tell me something…"

"Sure…" he said, out of breath. "What?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anythiiiiiii-!" he shrieked as she yanked the arrow out. Chrom visibly winced as Ranma began to scream.

"Oh, you bitch! You absolute bitch! You lying, no good- Why don't I feel anything?"

"Relax, will you?" she quipped as she began to run her hand over the wound while she gripped her stave in the other. In a matter of moments it was healed, and Lissa stood up to help up the new friend.

"Uh, listen, I-" he began, scratching the back of his head, before Lissa put a finger to his lips.

"Don't worry. You're welcome."

* * *

The girl opened her eyes when the sunlight hit them. The sight of armored men and two dumbfounded teenagers made her jump back with a start. She breathed heavily, seemingly ready to defend herself as Chrom got on one knee.

"Don't worry. Whoever they were, they're long gone now," he said in a small voice, smiling at her enough to hopefully put her at ease. "Now could you tell me your-"

She screeched and hit him across the temple, scrambling to her feet and shoving the tin can Frederick out of the way. She was met with a sharp yank back from Ranma's hand.

"Look, lady, after what we went through to-"

He yelled as she punched him straight in the nose. Ranma, not one to be easily messed with, quickly grappled her and flipped her over his shoulder. She landed with a grunt on the ground, looking up at the party of four closing in around her.

"You know we saved you, right?" said Ranma, rubbing his cheek where she punched him. "Sorry if a punch in the face is your version of 'thank you' but I get the feeling that doesn't fly here."

She caught her breath as she tried to sit up.

"Where am I?" she asked quietly, rubbing her aching head.

"Just outside Ylisstol. We were hoping to get you to a physician," said Chrom, offering her a hand. As she got to her feet, she meekly looked over the group before her.

"So… You saved me, huh?"

Chrom smiled and nodded, while Ranma rolled his eyes with a grumbled curse word or two. _Not only is she violent, but she's slow on the uptake… Just my luck, I swear._

She turned her head down, her voice becoming even more frail. "It all happened so fast, I couldn't get away, I-"

Chrom tilted his head. "There's no reason to be afraid. You're safe from harm now. We'll take you back to our base and get you cleaned up."

She looked up and smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear and giggling. "Well, I'm lucky my savior was such a handsome man."

"Well, actually, the plan was Ranma's." he said, happily gesturing to Ranma. Ranma only had a half smile to give in return. The girl's advance was totally lost on him. _Okay, I take it back. They're both slow on the uptake._

"Well, I do sort of remember being in some big, _strong_ arms…" she said, with some sultry emphasis.

"I did carry you from the clearing. You fainted when they carried you off."

"Well, then, I guess I owe _you_ a-"

"Oh come _on!_ Is everything in this world designed to waste my time?" yelled Ranma, both literally and figuratively putting his foot down. "If you wanna try and seduce him on your own time, that's fine, but can we at least do it in the comfort of a village?"

It was hard for anybody else to argue with that.

Chrom had been telling the truth when he said that the capital was near them. In less than an hour they were at the limits of a quaint but lively town. Ranma noticed the eyes of the townspeople darting in his direction. It was not an unfamiliar feeling, but in an unfamiliar world such as this he found it slightly harrowing. He was praying for the four-come-five to reach their base quickly. He was long past wanting answers. He just wanted to rest for a while.

But the five of them continued to walk past the town and towards the ornate castle on the distant hill. Ranma narrowed his eyes in confusion, then glanced back at the town, then over to the leader, getting close as they neared the castle's gate.

"Hey, Chrom…" he whispered. "We haven't missed a turn or somethin', have we?"

Chrom smiled and walked up to the two guards flanking the castle gates, and to Ranma's utter surprise, _they_ quickly bowed to _him_.

"Welcome back, Prince Chrom, Princess Lissa. And Sir Frederick. Queen Emmeryn has been expecting you for some time," said the guard on the left. Ranma's upper lip twitched as the words echoed around in his skull, and he whipped his head back and forth between the siblings.

"Y-You! A-And her! And… I… You… Well, when the hell were you planning on bringing that up?" he said, his voice oddly small considering how he'd been previously.

"It was a wise move on his part," Frederick butted in. "He must have assumed he would be a more desirable target if you thought he was royalty rather than a commoner."

Chrom, his hands on his hips, just shrugged. "Well, truth be told, it slipped my mind…"

Frederick closed his eyes to avoid looking Ranma in the face.

"Care to give us any more insight, _Sir_ Frederick?" Ranma said, an obnoxious smirk plastered across his face and his arms crossed. The only thing he liked more than being right was watching someone else be proven wrong.

Frederick simply groaned and pushed forward in front of them. Ranma, glancing side to side, caught Lissa with her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. When she looked back over his smirk had become a softer smile.

The guards stepped aside as Chrom ushered them in. Ranma gazed around the further they went, astonished at the size and grandeur of the structure. He had never exactly had a chance to take a good look at a castle before, let alone be in one without having to worry about saving his doll girlfriend or fighting a bird person. In retrospect, Ranma thought, his life had always been rather bizarre. Perhaps today was simply par for the course for him.

They finally entered an expansive and regal-looking room with green banners adorning the walls, hanging down. Torches lit the room, casting light to the far end, where atop a throne sat a very thin blonde-haired woman with skin even paler than Lissa's, clad in flowing green and white robes. Her stave was similar to Lissa's if not slightly more intimidating. Ranma felt his heartbeat as they were led closer.

Lissa and Chrom led the gaggle, with Frederick off to the side. He quickly bowed before the Exalt, before standing upright again.

A simple smile crossed her face as she looked to Chrom and Lissa. "Welcome back, brother, sister, Frederick." She said, acknowledging each with a nod of her head. "You're late. I became worried. You know how I feel about you all being gone so long without a report?"

"We ran into some complications," he said, gesturing to Ranma and the girl. Ranma uneasily waved back at the queen. She did not seem to acknowledge him.

"You found him outside the Outrealm Gate? Why is he here?" she asked, looking between the three. Chrom began to falter to find the words to describe it, so Lissa stepped forward.

"W-Well, we found him unarmed and unconscious. And uh, on our way back, we heard something in the forest…"

Frederick was the next to speak up. "The stranger fought admirably, Your Highness. Whatever style of combat he practices is quite… Unique. He took out a dozen brigands in a matter of seconds." Ranma was caught off guard by his defense. Frederick simply fell silent afterwards.

She looked in his direction with a slight grin. "Well, stranger…" she said, crossing her legs and seemingly changing her personality and her posture to more casual. "What may I call you by?"

Ranma shuffled his feet a bit and looked up. "U-Uh… I'm Ranma Saotome. And I'm sorry about this."

The queen smiled and stood up. "If my shepherd speaks the truth, you have little to be sorry for. I am the Exalt Emmeryn of Ylisse."

"U-Uh, hi…"

She smiled much more warmly this time. "Don't be alarmed. If you have saved my brother and sister, I owe you a debt of gratitude. Tell me… How have you come to be here?"

"I-I, uh… I don't know."

She tilted her head. "Well, surely you must have some memory of where you came from."

Frederick stepped forward and spoke up again. "Your Highness, however much an asset he may have been in defending us from our attackers, he's done little to prove himself to not be a threat to the crown. His clothing style does suggest the Chon'sin-"

"You just can't fuckin' help yourself, can you?" said Ranma, raising his voice regardless of who he stood before. "Is that the way you do things here, just stab your friends in the back after they help you away from some gangbangers? Is there a scrap of loyalty behind that-"

"Ranma!" snapped Lissa, elbowing him in the side.

"Frederick," chided Emmeryn, in a voice that made everyone snap to attention. She had not raised her voice hardly but her candor had made her more commanding. Even Ranma was silenced by it.

"Your concern has been noted, my friend, but I think we ought to let the man speak for himself." she said, resting her hands in her lap and turning back to look at him. With the feeling of five pairs of eyes on him, Ranma froze up. How the hell was he going to explain any of the truth to these people?

Chrom was the next to step forward. "Sister, believe me. He's had every opportunity to attack us from the outlands to now, and he hasn't taken one of them. In fact, it was he who took the initiative to save this woman from the grasp of a few criminals."

"And he saved my life," said Lissa, stepping forward by her brother's side. "If it weren't for him I would have had an arrow in my breast."

Chrom smiled into his sister's eyes. "He's done enough to gain my respect, sister."

Emmeryn walked back to Ranma, taking his hand. "And mine as well. You've done quite a duty in such a short time," she said, before bowing before him.

It said something that this was what made Ranma finally panic. He waved his hands around to try and gesture her to stop. "H-Hey! No need for this your, uh… Your Majesty. I only did what I would've done for anyone in that situation!"

Emmeryn stood tall again and shook her head. "It was no simple task you performed, Saotome. You chose to save a life at the risk of your own. I believe that is cause for praise"

Ranma rubbed the back of his head, his face red and his eyes turned toward the ceiling, awkwardly chuckling. "It's not a big deal... I was able to help, so I did…"

Chrom took Ranma's silence as a moment to speak up again, putting his hands behind his back. "Emm, with your permission I wish to induct Ranma into the shepherds. Not only would he be an asset because of his fighting skill,without a proper tactician, I believe he could be rather formidable."

Both Ranma and Frederick opened their mouths in shock and began to protest.

"Your Highness, he is completely unqualified! Fanciful fighting moves and a bit of dumb luck are hardly replacements for skilled strategization. No offense."

"No, I'm with you! I'm not cut out to be with you people!" said Ranma, hands clasped together. "You guys are at war! I've never been in anything more than a few brawls!"

Emmeryn looked between Ranma and Chrom, considering her brother's proposal before a smile crossed her face. "Yes. I believe our friend here has more than proven himself a worthy addition to our ranks."

Her gaze again went to Ranma, whose face had gone from red to blue. "And what say you? Will you join my brother's ranks to guard our borders?"

Ranma's mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to grasp how in the space of a few hours he could have gone from the streets of Nerima to being drafted into an army. His lip twitched as he imagined the kinds of grisly deaths he could experience in the pitch of battle.

"Ranma, please," said Chrom, taking his hand, an action which served to make him even more uncomfortable. "Ylisse is in need of a man like you. We face threat of invasion every day at our borders. Will you join us in our efforts?"

Ranma in a daze eked out something akin to a quiet "O-Okay."

Emmeryn smiled and touched his shoulder. "Then I pronounce you, Ranma Saotome, as the newest member of the Shepherds of Ylisse."

As he was embraced by the trio of siblings, Ranma had only a blank expression on his face, and a single thought running through his head.

 _I am so dead._

* * *

Author notes:

Hey guys! This is the other writer, you can call me Benegade. Sorry for the delay of this chapter, but I've been getting ready for college, and developing another story on the side. Let's just say the time added up. But, I hope you enjoy where RighteousJ and I are taking this! Juicy stuff is coming, so I hope you all stay tuned!

 **Alright this is the author who started this stuff, RighteousJ, great name I know. But this took awhile to get out, but I feel it's worth it, cause it's a lot longer than last chapter, and filled with so much more original content. Which to be fair, not gonna happen too often I think. But enough, trust me, I got a lot of future plans. So be ready for that stuff.**

 **So please be sure to leave a review, trust me, it motivates me to wanna do more, bad or good reviews are appreciated. With bad we can learn how to fix what wasn't good, and with good reviews, we can polish what is good, to make it even better.  
**

 **Okay, so this was just uploaded, but there was a problem I noticed and I quickly had to fix it. Sorry!**


	3. Introductions

After being tightly embraced by the three siblings, the youngest one grabbed his arm and with a perky "Come with me", led the misplaced pigtailed youth through many different convoluted (and identical) hallways before setting him in front of a simple wooden door.

"This is where you'll be staying in the meantime," she said, opening up the door for him. Ranma poked his head inside before walking through the door. He let out an impressed whistle at the size of his accommodations.

"Man, this is a hell of a lot bigger than where I was sleeping back home," he said, his hands in his pockets as his eyes darted around the room.

He set them on the big bed in the middle of the room and he couldn't help but to flop down on it and let out a satisfied sigh. It hadn't occurred to him how tired he was until just this moment.

 _Guess going to another reality and saving two gals took more out of me than I thought,_ he thought to himself. Being as tired as he was, he hadn't heard Lissa excuse herself. He fell onto his back and closed his eyes, taking this moment to start thinking about his situation, finally having been by himself long enough for it to really sink in. The feeling of legitimate melancholy, yearning, homesickness… It was unfamiliar to him. Scary. Something he hadn't thought he was able to feel.

It was at that moment that he caught a whiff of something. Something that roughly smelt like a year-old collection of gym socks. Something that smelt like his father after being on the road for too long without resting.

 _Wait._

He sat up, lifted his arm, and sniffed himself.

"Oh, GOD."

He jumped off the bed and zipped out of the door, now determined to find himself a bath.

* * *

 _Alright… If I were a castle designer, where would I put my bathhouse?_

Ranma shambled around the hallways, a towel draped over his right shoulder. His main concern was finding hot water. He hadn't forgotten that specific handicap of his. He was terrified, at this moment, of them finding out about it. Most people back home, a far more advanced society, already met him with some stares and screams when they found out about it. His own mother included.

 _I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, I suppose. Let's hope they don't punish witchcraft._

It wasn't until he saw a door with steam coming out from underneath it that his mood lifted. He was relieved enough, and perhaps too lost in his own thoughts, that he didn't even take a moment to knock on the door. He unlatched and pushed right in, at first being hit in the face by a fragrant puff of steam… Which was only the first of a few reasons to make his face red and eyes water.

He didn't see much before he shut the door quickly. To avoid finding out what the prince was like when angry, he'd stick to that story publicly.

 _Great, not even here for three hours and I already walk in on the_ _ **fucking princess**_ _in the bath. Every pervert in the world must be begging for my luck. Now I_ really _need a shower._

His face surely red, he stuck to the door like a spider, until Lissa, in a voice he found worryingly calm, said "Come in."

He slowly opened the door back up to see her standing with a towel wrapped around her form. It was because of this that his blush refused to die down. Lissa kept her plain smile as she tucked the towel in.

"Do they not knock in Nerima?" she teased as she stood before him.

"Yeah, I'm a little on-edge right now. Sorry."

She smiled, somewhat shyly, and giggled.

"I didn't think you meant anything by it. By all means, the bath is yours."

"W-Well, hey! I can come back later!" he said, trying to make eye contact with her while avoiding the forbidden area between her neckline and where the towel started. Not for the fact that a naked woman was standing in front of him, but that the word 'Princess' was dancing around his skull and his thoughts of medieval-style tortures were quite prominent. Lissa's friendliness was not making it easy for him. It reminded him of Nerima's Swedish exchange students… A whole other story for another time.

"Nonsense! A bath is a bath. And it's still nice and warm," she said, with an inflection that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as she stooped down to swish the water with her fingers.

"Princess," said Ranma, close enough to tugging his collar to be clenching his fists to stop himself.

Lissa stood back up and smiled.

"You know, you can call me Lissa."

His internal panic turned into internal screaming.

"After all, you're taking on a tremendous responsibility for my family."

 _Maybe I'll be beheaded. At least that'd be quick._

"I don't see any reason why you need to call us by those silly regal names."

 _Boiling oil. Drawn and quartered. That thing where they tie me to four different horses and send them running._

"So… You call me Lissa, I'll call you Ranma. Does that sound good?"

"... Leave, please."

Her face fell.

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes, I am! Just please!" he said, putting his hands on her lower back and quickly scooping her out of the room. Keeping both hands on the door, he caught his breath, firmly believing a bullet dodged.

With the walking implication finally out of the bathroom, Ranma promptly took off his clothes and stepped into the warm water, which drew a pleasant sigh from his lips. He felt it rinse away the stress brought on him by his own imagination, with the thoughts of all the numerous things that could have happened to him just from being in the same room as a princess whom only had a towel to keep her modesty.

Finally with another moment to himself, Ranma began reflecting on the past few hours. Having gone through… Whatever it was that brought him here, seemed to have left him a bit more weary than he realized, not that he would let anyone know that was the case, although anyone back home might've noticed he was moving a bit slower.

Ranma began to think about how he could possibly be the Shepherds' tacitican. Even though he had agreed to do so, he knew for a fact he has no idea how to coordinate a group of people, no matter how large. His only experience with being a part of a group usually ended up with them backstabbing him or doing their own thing. He wasn't sure he could get a group of more than three to even agree to get lunch at the same time or place. He came up with the most basic of plans back in the forest, and even that had backfired before it began. And even then, Chrom seemed to expect him to have a backup plan, and a backup backup plan…

Ranma groaned and shook his head, trying to get himself to enjoy at least a few moments of relaxation. He sank himself further into the water, sighing out his nose, unable to stop himself from letting his thoughts wander to how he was going to get himself home. The last thing he remembered before waking up in the field is that he was holding a piece of junk that had turned out to not be a piece of junk and instead an instrument to give him a major case of upset stomach and….. Time travel? He wasn't exactly one to pay attention in history class, so a kingdom by the name of Ylisse isn't out of the realm of possibility for him. Speaking of that glowing eyesore, Ranma hadn't seen it since he got to Ylisse.

 _I wonder what happened to that thi-_

The creaking of the door cut off his inner monologue. Ranma spun around and allowed a small sound of surprise to escape his throat. There was Prince Chrom, dressed as scantily as his sister had been before, and seemingly without a shred of shame about it. For Ranma, this was new territory. A bath invasion by women was one thing, as Shampoo had taught him on one too many occasions. One by another man was something else entirely.

"How is the water?" he asked, setting a smaller wash rag on the bench nearby.

"Uhisfine," he slurred, turning around to face the other wall. He could at least take some comfort in knowing that the Princess was not, in fact, coming on to him. Though the idea of this whole family being so horribly friendly was not much more appealing right now. He swallowed as he heard Chrom's towel fall to the floor, and closed one eye as a very naked Chrom walked past him and splashed into the warm water. He sprang back, his hair sticking to his forehead as he let out his own satisfied sigh, spreading his arms and leaning against the wall of the tub. Ranma semi-consciously shuffled an inch or two away from him.

Chrom looked over and smiled.

"Relaxing, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" replied Ranma, his knees clutched to his chest. Chrom tilted his head, leaning forward.

"It's been a long day for you, hasn't it?"

"Yeah… More or less. I'm still expecting to wake up in my bed back home any minute."

Chrom chuckled, moving close enough to slap Ranma on the back. Ranma lurched forward in surprise, his jaw clenched shut in indignant shock.

"You're the type of man who'll do well for himself in Ylisse, I know it."

"Yeah, I hope… Listen, about that strategist job…"

"Ah, yes. I was hoping to talk to you about that."

 _Oh, thank God. Maybe he's turned it over to that brown-noser in shining armor._

"I do know it must have been something of a shock to hear, especially after the end of such a harrowing day of combat."

 _Finally! Somebody around here who_ gets _it! And it's this doofus of all people. Just let me down gently. Ah, screw gently! Gimme the boot!_

"But you should know… I never make such a claim without believing it."

 _Oh, goddammit!_

"Today, in the forest, I saw a spark of not just a good fighter, but a leader. And I think, with the right embrace, you could become a great leader!"

By this point, Chrom had not only closed the distance between the two of them, but had his arm all the way around him, gripping his shoulders. Ranma's discomfort was downplayed enough to be interpreted as simply aloofness. Unfortunately for Ranma, Chrom was not one to leave a man behind in any sense. It was a vicious cycle, in a way; Chrom's forwardness caused Ranma to be more uncomfortable, which only caused Chrom to be more forward. In effect, the two men were in the tub trying to one-up each other in opposite directions and currently in quite close contact.

"You don't look convinced," said Chrom, squeezing Ranma's shoulder a bit. Ranma's words got caught in sheer embarrassment.

"Come, look at yourself!" he said, backing off slightly which got Ranma to breathe the slightest breath of relief. His mind raced, maybe even faster than it had with Lissa.

 _What the Hell is going on here? Am_ I _doing something to lead him on? Is he actually into me? Oh God, he didn't show any interest to that girl propositioning him in the forest! Could he actually be…? I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that! But_ I'm _not! Does he think I am because of the ponytail? Is he going to have me executed if I say no?_ Do _I even say no? Maybe this is one of those situations where I just have to lie back and-_

Realizing he had zoned himself out from Chrom's pep talk, he looked up… And his face instantly reddened. Chrom was now fully stood up, and largely out of the water, his hands on his hips. To the uninformed observer, it would almost seem as if he was touting his admittedly impressive physique to Ranma. His ears ringing, he kept his eyes on Chrom's speaking and gesturing, with the only thought in his mind being _Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down!_

"And on top of all that, you have a strong sense of right and wrong! That's what I need. People don't realize that about a good soldier… No, a good leader! They need compassion! You can't have vengeance without mercy, violence without love!"

 _What the fuck is he talking about?_

Ranma's inner monologue once again stopped dead as he felt Chrom's hand on his shoulder, and saw his smiling face draw far nearer than he would have ever liked to see. The color completely drained from Ranma's face in less than a second.

 _SWEET MERCIFUL BUDDHA IS HE GONNA KISS ME?_

"I think you and I will be very prosperous partners."

 _NOPE!_

With a shriek like a boiling tea kettle Ranma leapt out from in front of Chrom, landing with his expected amount of dexterity on the lip of the bath, nearly falling over the edge as he reached for a towel, leaving Chrom's upper half soaked and very confused.

As Ranma hastily tied the towel around his midsection, his lips seemed to spout out a mile per minute as if to preemptively combat any awkward silence. Though his complete unintelligibility arguably made it more awkward. In a single breath, he shouted:

"Listenthanksforthepeptalkandeverythingbutihavemyownsetofstandardsandithinkattheendofhtedaywedbothbedisappointedineachotherandireallydontlikeanyonethatwaywellatleastnotdudesandgoodnight," and left so quickly he nearly knocked over the maid coming in with a pitcher of hot water. Chrom, who had not moved an inch since he tried to embrace Ranma, only could blink a few times as he tried to process what had happened.

"You don't suppose it was something I said… Do you?" he said to the bath maid as she brought a fresh load of towels. The maid only shook her head and shrugged, picking up a jug of water on her way out.

 **(Ranma** and **Chrom** attained **Support Level C)**

* * *

Ranma was already halfway towards his room when he realized he had left all his clothes in the bathroom, but for the first time in his life, he knew not to make the situation even more awkward.

He barged into the room, panting, his hand on his chest trying to get his breathing back under control. "Thatwas _so_ not cool!" he shouted out loud to himself.

Finally having his nerves under control, he noticed something folded up on the foot of his bed, underneath a small note. Inspecting closer he finds a pair of clothes, picking up the note that reads as such

" _Sorry for the incident in the bath. Hope this makes it up_ - _Lissa_ " He smiled a bit as he read the note, even chuckling slightly when he saw the little doodle showing a resemblance to Lissa smiling.

Setting the note down, Ranma put on the simple white outfit that was laid out for him. He stretches out, getting a feel for it before coming to the conclusion it's pretty much just a pair of pajamas. _Well, at least it's clean,_ he thought to himself before flopping onto the bed, not even getting under the covers before promptly passing out.

* * *

There then came a soft knocking on the door "Sir Ranma! Princess Lissa calls for you!" a gentle voice called through the door. Too gentle, in fact. Ranma didn't even stir.

They knocked again, harder this time enough to slightly wake him. However, the real force to awaken the pigtailed tactician was the rumbling of his stomach.

The sudden opening of the door was enough to cause the maid to let out a small "Eep!"

Ranma stood there in the doorway, scratching his stomach as he looked at the maid, too tired and too hungry to really take in her features. He barely made out the fact she handed him something.

"Prince Chrom had us clean these for you," she said to the groggy teenager, her eyes on the floor.

With a raised brow, Ranma unfurled the bundle that was handed to him, the surprise of what he saw caused him to wake up a bit more. Without missing a beat, and before either could process it, Ranma stripped down bare in front of the poor maid.

The scarlet faced maid turned to give him some privacy as he changed into his new outfit.

It wasn't until she was tapped on the shoulder that she felt comfortable to turn around again. Comfortable _enough_ at least.

There he stood, proudly wearing his normal outfit, which may well could have been called his second skin for how comfortable he felt in it.

"I-If you're done, Sir Ranma… Princess Lissa is waiting down the hall for you…" The maid said timidly, the image of the teen without his shirt still fresh in her mind.

With a nod and a wave, Ranma walked out of the room and looked both ways down the hallway to spot Lissa, having spotted his target he jogged down the hall.

Lissa greeted him with a sweet smile. "Good morning"

Ever the conversationalist, Ranma spat back "Mornin' "

Not that it phased Lissa in the slightest, having been around people with similar social skills or even worse than his. Speaking of…

"Hey Ranma… what with you being the new tactician and all..." She began.

"Don't remind me…" He muttered under his breath.

"I think it's time you met some of the other Shepherds!" she said with a beam, either having not heard what he said, or ignoring it entirely.

"... There're more?!"

"Come! They will be eager to meet you!" she said as she grabbed his wrist (displaying the strength that was betrayed by her small frame) and dragged him away.

* * *

Ranma's arm was sore by the time they made it to a large room, filled with various crates, chairs, tables, and a few various other archaic odds and ends.

 _Did she bring me to the freakin' store room!?_ Ranma screamed in his head, not eager for another potentially flirtatious run-in with the young woman, before his senses felt the presence of others in the room. One by one, four figures came out of the recesses of the room and into his view, each of them totally unique from the other. His eyes scanned the lot of them, trying to build a first impression without the need to speak. Almost on command, the intimidation which had been ruling his personality for the last few hours, much to Ranma's chagrin, was buried inside of him. What remained, both inside and out, was the same self-importance that made him such a widespread nuisance back home. What he lacked now was the substance behind his bravato.

 _Barbarian… Why is that girl with the drill bangs glaring at me? I haven't even done anything yet… That guy with all that armor in the back is waving at me pretty vigorously… Should I wave back?… Nah_.

Lissa finally let go of his wrist, and was about to say something (complemented with her characteristic gestures) until she was interrupted by the girl with the corkscrews for hair.

"Lissa, darling!" she began, with a voice Ranma would have described as

'steeped in bitchy intonation'. " Why ever did you bring this vagrant to us? Naga knows, it's hard enough to even stand being so close to him…"

Ranma's eyebrow twitched. He had been around rich bastards like the Kunos long enough to know how much he hated the haughty and self-important. At the risk of being the pot calling the kettle black (an expression he never understood since all his kettles were copper), he couldn't stand somebody who thought so highly of themselves against everyone else. More importantly, however, he knew exactly how to piss them off.

"What's wrong? Ya jealous that Lissa here'd rather spend time with me than stay around someone with a stick so far up her ass it's behind her eyes?"

To emphasize his point, Ranma put an arm around Lissa's waist and tugged her in close under his arm, giving the rude woman his usual "I'm better than you" smirk. If Ranma had bothered to look down during this gesture, he would have noticed how red her face had become.

Lissa, torn between wanting to stop the two of them from fighting and moving out of her newfound comfort zone, was at a complete loss. But, quickly and decisively, she was able to squeeze out of Ranma's grip and move in between the sputtering older woman and Ranma.

"Stop it, please!" she cried out with as much authority in her shrill voice as she could muster, she looked at the woman and made a gesture to Ranma.

"Maribelle, this is no time to be rude. This is our new tactician, Ranma Saotome!"

All Maribelle did was turn up her nose and look away, still fuming.

"To think Lord Chrom would permit someone so uncouth such power… It's insulting!" she spat before turning around (in such a way that her drill hair bounced against her like wind chimes in a thunderstorm) and walking away.

 _Level 5 Bitch,_ Ranma concluded, before taking notice that the Conan-looking guy was making his way over.

"The Vaike welcomes you, Ranma!" he said, grabbing Ranma's hand with his own with such an iron-vice grip that he had to be making some sort of power move. Ranma, ever the showman, refused to take this lying down. Ranma layered his other hand on top of Vaike's, sandwiching the wall's hand in between his own as he looked him dead in the eye and said, in a disgustingly sincere tone, "The Ranma thanks you."

Vaike looked at Ranma with a jaw locked in place like the rabid animal he was, while Ranma was giving him an oblivious smile. He tried to pull out his hand, but Ranma's grip was as uncompromising as his ego. If anything, his grip tightened the more he tried.

"I-Impossible! Only Chrom has been able to overpower The Vaike!" Vaike yelled in indignation, to which Ranma simply snapped his hand back and shrugged.

"Guess I know who's next," Ranma said with a heavy undertone of snark and an overtone of sass.

With Vaike's introduction well and taken care of, Ranma assumed Lissa would introduce the guy in the huge armor in the back. Ranma clammed up as a defense mechanism when the giant tea kettle bellowed his name to the boy. Ranma didn't even truly hear the name, retreated like a turtle into his shell, or in this case a teenager into his popped collar.

Chrom appeared, much in the same manner as the others, with his arms crossed and a broad smile across his face. "Welcome to the Shepherds, Ranma."

Chrom made his way straight to Ranma and placed a hand right onto his shoulder. "I see you've already made your acquaintances with everyone!" He had said cheerfully.

Ranma suppressed the urge to groan from the close contact between him and Chrom, being reminded of last night's bathroom escapades when all he wanted to do was forget it.

Luckily enough for him, a loud cry of "Captain!" was enough to snap him out of his thoughts, and in came a girl in purple armor running into the room carrying a large tray with at four whole mugs resting on it.

"Captain Chrom! I'm so glad you came back! I brought some water for your group! You four must be parched!" The New Girl said still running in.

"Be careful, Sumia!" Chrom shouted at the girl in concern, knowing well how clumsy the girl can be sometimes when excited.

At least Ranma now knew her name was Sumia.

Ranma was the first and probably the only one to notice the girl's path was aimed right towards him. As well as the only one to notice the pile of papers in the way of said path.

The whole scene played out in slow motion for him, first Sumia stepped and slid on the pile of papers slamming right into the ground

 _That must have hurt_ , Ranma thought before his attention shifted back to the tray which went flying into the air. The tray went flying further than the mugs, of which seemed to be descending fast upon Ranma. It's always water… why is it never rocks…? Was his last thought before he moved as fast as he could, not wanting to let this be how everyone found out about his secret.

Having moved faster than anyone else in the room could really track, Ranma had caught the mugs, One on a raised foot, two on each hand, and the last one right on top of his head. Ranma was balancing himself on one foot, trying not to shake too much.

Everyone looked on in astonishment at the feat that their new Tactician was able to perform.

Not wanting to risk the mugs falling by asking for help, Ranma looked pleadingly at the only one within looking range of him, which happened to be Chrom.

But before the Prince could make the move, another individual had stepped up behind Ranma.

"Wow! Even Vaike is impressed! Of course, Vaike could have done that as well..." Vaike said boastfully and with that He gave Ranma a congratulatory slap on the back, which upset his balance and causing him to fall to the floor with a crashing thud, spilling the ice-cold water all over himself and the floor.

Laying still on the ground, Ranma's only thought was of the vengeance that would soon befall Vaike.

"Ranma!" A concerned voice called out. Ranma immediately linked it to Chrom, who didn't take more than a second to be at Ranma's side to help his friend up, with a hand on Ranma's shoulder and another hooked under his arm, planted firmly on his chest.

His… His?

Chrom narrowed his eyebrows at the unexpected texture his hand felt. And naturally, for a man presented with an unfamiliar texture, he did what any would do; he squeezed. He was met with a feminine shriek and sudden twisting of his arm before the figure flung him at the nearest wall with the speed of an arrow being flung from an archer's string. And behind the shriek was a short, curvy girl with fiery red hair tied in a single braid behind her head, staring wide-eyed at the indent the prince had just made in the wall.

"Uh oh," she timidly croaked, her thoughts of medieval torture returning in full force. This is probably the part where they call the guards and send me to the pits to rot till they're all ready to put me in the guillotine.

Luckily for her (and everyone else, at that), Chrom was way tougher than Ranma had assumed. The Prince had gotten up with a groan rubbing his chin "Now I know what the castle walls feel like…" he said quietly to himself. Once he was finally settled he had finally laid eyes on the female redhead in front of him, who happened to be wearing Ranma's clothes and wore her hair the same… and happened to be in the same spot he was barely a minute ago. Ranma might have called Chrom slow just the day before, but anyone should have been to piece together what happened here.

"Ranma?!" Lissa being the first to break the silence before Chrom got a chance to.

Lissa had brought Ranma out of her haze of medieval torture methods, which brought her attention to the fact everyone in the room was now staring at her.

"Uh hey…?" She said nervously not quite sure how this is going to play.

"Ranma…," Chrom spoke up as he walked towards her "would you like to explain how in Naga's name this had happened?"

Not wanting to tempt fate by asking Chrom if he's mad for the sucker punch she figured it'd be best to just to tell them what happened at Jusenkyo.

"Okay, so..." Ranma began, her boisterous attitude masking her obvious nervousness. "It all started in a place called Jusenkyo. This place is filled with springs and bamboo and shit, my old man brought us there cause he heard it was a great training ground, but the stupid old bastard didn't speak a lick of the language in the country so instead of listening to the guide who tried to warn us… We jumped onto the bamboo and started training, one thing led to another and we got cursed. I turn into a girl with cold water now… back to a guy with hot," she finished, not sure when her hands had crossed behind her back. She noticed Lissa was about to ask a question, having raised a finger and about to open her mouth.

"And before anyone asks, I was born a guy."

Lissa lowered her hand and kept her mouth closed.

Everyone else in the room had just blinked at the explanation, which simultaneously was too much info to take in and not enough, but they all got the gist of it.

Chrom slapped a hand onto Ranma's back giving off a chuckle. "Well, that's not so bad! We have many mages and such in the castle! Magic and curses aren't uncommon around here, heck we might even be able to find you a cure."

Ranma was expecting all manner of reactions to the curse, disgust, revulsion, all kinds of different negative reactions, the last thing she expected was confusion, general offhandedness, and least of all an offer to find her a cure!

"T-That would be nice..." Ranma peeped out, keeping herself quiet to conceal her internal elation.

Sumia happened to be the next person to come up to Ranma. She bowed before her "I'm so sorry!" She cried out in embarrassment. "I uh didn't see those papers in front of me! And uh… these are new boots… I just… slipped" she said staring down at her feet.

Ranma, not one to normally hold grudges… for long, just waved her hand and looked away.

"Ah… happens to me all the time. Honestly surprised it didn't happen yesterday on the way here."

Sumia however just shook her head. "L-let me make it up to you at least! Hot water turns you back right?" She asked to which Ranma just responded with a nod of her head.

"A-Allow me to get you hot water then! It won't take more than a moment!"

"Uh sure, go for it. I ain't gonna pass up hot water"

With a determined nod, Sumia left in search of hot water.

Ranma looked over to Chrom "... what are the chances she burns herself by accident?"

Chrom's resulting sigh was all the answer she needed.

"Listen before she does get back, I should tell you, Emm wants to send us southward. There have been a few Brigand sightings and she wants us to investigate" Chrom explained to the Pigtailed girl

"And by 'us' you mean…?"

"You, Lissa, Frederick and I."

Ranma narrowed her eyes with a huff. She hadn't been given any more reason to trust Frederick after his wanton betrayal the day before.

It didn't take much longer for Sumia to come back and with another incident had gotten the hot water on Ranma, turning the Cursed teen back to his usual self.

And so, with introductions out of the way, Ranma, Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick prepared to head southward.

* * *

 **AN: Well... it's finally out, the third chapter. Took me long enough. A whole year and a few months... no excuses for how long this took. Hopefully the next one ends up out a lot quicker, but... I know I can't promise anything. Either way I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**


End file.
